


Cody is a Cryptid (Almost) Confirmed

by FountainPen



Series: Vampiric Growth Spurt [4]
Category: Paranatural (Webcomic)
Genre: Gen, Other Characters Are Mentioned, and drags ollie along, camp out setting, cody is a vampire, cody is also a fool, cody is bad at hunting things, stephen hunts cryptids in the woods, this was really fun to write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-20 10:25:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15532200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FountainPen/pseuds/FountainPen
Summary: Still at the camping trip, Cody gets hungry and has to go hunting at night, coincidentally, Stephen and Ollie are hunting cryptids at the same time.*Edited Aug 13





	Cody is a Cryptid (Almost) Confirmed

After the incident on the way to the lake, the camp out was going pretty smoothly, Cody politely declining any s’mores offered to him and instead throwing the marshmallows at his classmates.

 

Max and Johnny had started something akin to a prank war, but the only weapons on hand were water balloons, so it was more of an extended water balloon fight, in which you either joined a side, or you were caught in the crossfire. The only one who was still stubbornly refusing to pick a team was Isaac, who was now a general target for both Max and Johnny. Cody reminded himself to ask how his hair stayed up in those eternal spikes even when he was doused with water.

 

Cody wasn’t expecting any side effects of his Max-dubbed vampire puberty to be bothersome during the camping trip, save for the inability to cross running water (When on hikes it became customary for Stephen to scoop a flustered Cody into his arms and carry him everywhere.). Unfortunately, because nothing in Cody’s life would ever just be easy for two days, he was wrong, again.

 

In his long sixteen years of existence, Cody’s stomach had never growled. He’d been really hungry, sure, but Cody couldn’t remember a time when his stomach physically made a noise. This was why it came as such a surprise when Cody felt a wave of hunger roll over him and his stomach make a noise.

 

Cody had assumed that he’d eaten enough before the trip that it wouldn’t be necessary to bring any extra food. Meaning he was going to have to go and find some on his own. Cody really did hate the course his life had decided to take.

 

When Cody felt the pressure in his head that came with his thrall, he grabbed some Spender-esque sunglasses and began to grumble through the day.

* * *

 

Waiting for everyone to fall asleep was the most grueling part of the experience, but eventually, even the mostly nocturnal RJ was snoozing.

 

Cody crept out of his tent and into the surrounding woods

* * *

 

“C’mon, it’ll be fun!” Stephen said quietly, trying not to wake RJ up.

 

“Do you even have a flashlight?” Ollie asked and Stephen nodded, revealing a pair of flashlights decorated by sharpie scribbles of Mothman and Bigfoot.

 

“I promise we’ll be back in an hour or two,” Stephen assured his bigger friend. “I have my phone on me this time.”

 

Ollie seemed reassured that if he did take up Stephen’s offer to go cryptid hunting in the woods at night, that they wouldn’t be wandering blind.

 

“Okay, but if we don’t find anything, you have to trade sides in the water balloon fight.”

 

“Normally I’d be offended, but I’ve got a good feeling about this one.” Stephen grinned.

 

The two slid out of their tent and onto a path through the woods, voices no longer hushed when they left earshot of the camp.

 

“Okay, so what are we looking for this time?” Ollie asked.

 

“Mothman was just spotted in a different state, but there was a Bigfoot sighting one town over, so he’s a good candidate,” Stephen said, flashlight scanning through the trees. “How’re we doing on time?”

 

“You got 45 minutes left.”

 

“Sweet.”

 

The two continued in relative silence for another ten minutes, Stephen occasionally stopping to look at tracks on the ground and take pictures. When they’d strayed pretty far from camp, the two teens heard the sound of a branch snapping.

 

“ _What in the fresh fu-“_  Stephen was cut off mid-swear by the sound of footsteps moving toward them.

 

“Oh my god oh my god oh my god.” Ollie was hissing. “Stephen don’t move _towards_ the horror movie sounds!”

 

The footsteps halted, and then started again, running in the other direction, and Stephen crashed through the underbrush to follow.

 

* * *

 

The rabbit Cody has been stalking was proving to be very difficult to actually keep up with, it kept darting under bushes and out of sight. Cody wondered how his dad did it and finally realized why he always called rabbits fast food.

 

When he finally finally caught the dumb thing, of course, it was when people were coming up the path nearby. The branch that crunched underfoot just added insult to injury.

 

Cody moved closer, trying to figure out who was in the woods this late and was finally able to pick out a voice.

 

“Stephen don’t move _towards_ the horror movie sounds!”

 

Cody heard more sounds, _extremely close to him time to run-_

 

Cody turned on his heel and ran, and he could hear Stephen and Ollie shouting curses and crushing through brambles behind him. Panic and adrenaline were coursing through him, and Cody wondered for a moment what would happen if Stephen and Ollie caught up.

 

Normally Cody could outrun any one of his classmates, but he still hadn’t eaten anything, and the way was less than clear. Stephen and Ollie were gaining on him.

 

“Is that a person!?” Ollie shouted, and twin beams of light were swinging back and forth as the boys chased after him. In a last-ditch effort to keep his friends from finding him, Cody waited until the lights swung away from him for a moment, and scrambled up a tree, rabbit between his teeth.

 

Stephen and Ollie barreled past the tree, and Cody slumped against the trunk, panting. Cody knew he had to get back to the camp before Stephen and Ollie, but for now, he was just gonna eat his freaking rabbit.

 

* * *

 

“Dude-“ Stephen gasped, out of breath as he and Ollie slowed. “It just disappeared!”

 

“I saw! And I also saw you chase after a possible monster, in the middle of the night, in the woods, and no one knows we left!” Ollie said.

 

“I shoulda filmed, dangit!”

 

“Is that really what you’re concerned about!?” Ollie shouted, pinching the bridge of his nose

 

“Yes? We saw something!”

 

“Where even _are_ we?” Ollie asked, and Stephen glanced around.

 

“By the lake, I think.” Stephen replied, and hopped onto a low hanging tree branch. “Yup, the bridge is right over there.”

 

“Thank god.” Ollie muttered.

 

And they made their way to camp, Stephen reminding Ollie that now he had to switch water balloon teams.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Ed approached Cody.

 

“Hey man, your tent was unzipped last night, where’d you go?”

 

“Oh, uh, I kinda sleep walked for a while, woke up running into a thorn bush.” Cody laughed, trying not to sound guilty.

 

“Yikes.” Ed replied, and ducked. A water balloon sailed past him and hit Cody in the face.

 

Great.


End file.
